Share This

A collaboration led by a periodontal researcher from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has found a possible link between the success of gum-disease treatment and the likelihood of giving birth prematurely, according to a study published in the journal BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Related Articles

While a number of factors are associated with an increased rate of preterm birth, such as low body-mass index, alcohol consumption and smoking, the study adds to the body of research that suggests oral infection may also be associated with such an increase.

The study looked at 322 pregnant women, all with gum disease. Half the group was given oral-hygiene instruction and treated with scaling and root planning, which consists of cleaning above and below the gum line. The second half received only oral-hygiene instruction.

The incidence of preterm birth was high in both the treatment group and the untreated group: 52.4 percent of the women in the untreated control group had a preterm baby compared with 45.6 percent in the treatment group. These differences were not statistically significant.

However, researchers then looked at whether the success of periodontal treatment was associated with the rate of preterm birth. Participants were examined 20 weeks after the initial treatment, and success was characterized by reduced inflammation, no increase in probing depth and loosening of the teeth.

Within the treatment group of 160 women, 49 were classified as having successful gum treatment and only four, or 8 percent, had a preterm baby. In comparison, 111 women had unsuccessful treatment and 69, or 62 percent, had preterm babies.

The results show that pregnant women who were resistant to the effects of scaling and root planning were significantly more likely to deliver preterm babies than those for whom it was successful.

The mean age of the women in the study was 23.7 years; 87.5 percent were African-American, and 90 percent had not seen a dentist for tooth cleaning.

"First and foremost, this study shows that pregnant women can receive periodontal treatment safely in order to improve their oral health," said Marjorie Jeffcoat, professor of periodontics at Penn Dental Medicine and lead author of the paper. "Second, in a high risk group of pregnant women, such as those patients who participated in this study, successful periodontal treatment when rendered as an adjunct to conventional obstetric care may reduce the incidence of preterm birth."

Future papers will address the role of antimicrobial mouth rinses in reducing the incidence of preterm birth.

"Researchers have previously suggested that severe gum infections cause an increase in the production of prostaglandin and tumour necrosis factor, chemicals which are associated with preterm labor," Philip Steer, editor-in-chief of BJOG, said. "This new study shows a strong link between unsuccessful gum-disease treatment and preterm birth; however, we need to bear in mind that 69 percent of women failed to respond to the dental treatment given. Therefore, more effective treatment will need to be devised before we can be sure that successful treatment improves outcome, rather than simply being a marker of pregnancies with a lower background level of inflammation that will go to term anyway."

The study was conducted by Jeffcoat, Mary Sammel, Bonnie Clothier and Annette Catlin of Penn Dental Medicine; Samuel Parry of the Department of Maternal and Fetal Medicine at Penn's School of Medicine; and George Macones of Washington University in St. Louis.

The study was funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and an educational grant from the Procter and Gamble Company.

University of Pennsylvania. "Successful periodontal therapy may reduce the risk of preterm birth, according to dental study." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 September 2010. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100915080444.htm>.

University of Pennsylvania. (2010, September 15). Successful periodontal therapy may reduce the risk of preterm birth, according to dental study. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 3, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100915080444.htm

University of Pennsylvania. "Successful periodontal therapy may reduce the risk of preterm birth, according to dental study." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100915080444.htm (accessed March 3, 2015).

More From ScienceDaily

More Health & Medicine News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Doctors write millions of prescriptions a year for drugs to calm the behavior of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. But non-drug approaches actually work better, and carry ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Briefly counseling college students on the dangers of binge drinking is effective in lowering heavy drinking levels among many students, but only temporarily. Three out of four will be right back ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Body mass index in healthy adolescents has a statistically significant association with both systolic blood pressures and diastolic blood pressures, research shows, and it highlights the significance ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Loneliness brought about by the death of a spouse can trigger a wider network of depression-like symptoms, a study has found, but authors suggest that doctors are often too quick to attribute these ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Family Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT) is more effective in treating preadolescent children with depression compared to child-centered therapy (CCT), a recent study has found. ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Two of the four known groups of human AIDS viruses (HIV-1 groups O and P) have originated in western lowland gorillas, according to new research. The scientists conducted a comprehensive survey of ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Scientists have succeeded in producing cartilage formed from embryonic stem cells that could in future be used to treat the painful joint condition osteoarthritis. With their huge capacity to ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Everyone worries about losing their memory as they grow older—memory loss remains one of the most common complaints of the elderly. But the molecular reasons behind the processes remain unclear, ... full story

Featured Videos

Mom Triumphs Over Tragedy, Helps Other Families

AP (Mar. 3, 2015) — After her son, Dax, died from a rare form of leukemia, Julie Locke decided to give back to the doctors at St. Jude Children&apos;s Research Hospital who tried to save his life. She raised $1.6M to help other patients and their families. (March 3)
Video provided by AP

Woman Convicted of Poisoning Son

AP (Mar. 3, 2015) — A woman who blogged for years about her son&apos;s constant health woes was convicted Monday of poisoning him to death by force-feeding heavy concentrations of sodium through his stomach tube. (March 3)
Video provided by AP

Related Stories

Nov. 14, 2014 — In a study of blacks with normal kidney function, those with severe periodontal disease developed chronic kidney disease at 4 times the rate of those without severe periodontal disease, researchers ... full story

Aug. 28, 2013 — New clinical recommendations urge pregnant women to maintain periodontal health as well. Research has indicated that women with periodontal disease may be at risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such ... full story

Sep. 22, 2010 — The prevalence of periodontal disease in the United States may be significantly higher than originally estimated. New research suggests that the prevalence of periodontal disease may have been ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.